NY state senator arrested in alleged NYC mayor race plot (update)

NEW YORK (AP) -- A state lawmaker was arrested Tuesday along with several other politicians in what a prosecutor called an "unappetizing smorgasbord of graft and greed" aimed at enabling the politician to bribe his way into the race for mayor of New York City.

Democratic state Sen. Malcolm Smith tried to pay off some of New York City's Republican party bosses to get himself on the ballot as a GOP candidate, federal authorities said.

New York City Councilman Dan Halloran and four other political figures also were charged in what U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara called "an unappetizing smorgasbord of graft and greed involving six officials who together built a corridor of corruption stretching from Queens and the Bronx to Rockland County and all the way up to Albany itself."

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Smith "tried to bribe his way to a shot at Gracie Mansion," Bharara said in a statement, referring to the official mayor's residence. "Smith drew up the game plan and Councilman Halloran essentially quarterbacked that drive by finding party chairmen who were wide open to receiving bribes."

In meetings with a cooperating witness and an undercover FBI agent posing as a wealthy real estate developer, Smith agreed to bribe leaders of Republican Party county committees around New York City in an attempt to run for mayor as a Republican, even though he was a registered Democrat, a criminal complaint said.

In exchange for payments to Savino and Tabone, Smith agreed to use his power as a senator to help obtain state funds for a road project in Spring Valley, a village of 30,000 residents in Rockland County outside New York City. That, in turn, was to benefit a real estate project that Smith believed was being built by the undercover agent's company in Spring Valley, the complaint alleged.

Charges in the case include bribery, extortion, and wire and mail fraud, Bharara said.

Smith said in a statement that he'll be vindicated.

He denies wrongdoing, said his lawyer, Gerald L. Shargel.

"Malcolm Smith is a dedicated public servant who has served both the state of New York and his constituents in an exemplary fashion," Shargel said. "He steadfastly denies the allegations that are contained in the complaint."

Representatives for the other politicians did not immediately respond to comment requests.

New York Republican Chairman Ed Cox called the arrests "deeply concerning."

"I urge federal and state law enforcement officials to do their jobs as thoroughly and expeditiously as possible to determine the guilt or innocence of those accused," Cox said in a statement. "The integrity of the electoral process for the voters of New York City must be preserved."

One candidate for mayor, billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis, said the arrests "point to a culture of corruption that permeates our city and state, corruption fueled by career politicians who put personal advancement before public service."

In court papers, the FBI detailed meetings aimed at benefiting Smith that began in November and recounted numerous meetings among the defendants, the undercover FBI agent and the cooperating witness, who pleaded guilty to federal charges last month in a deal aimed at winning leniency at sentencing.

In a Jan. 25 meeting in Smith's car in Rockland County, the cooperating witness told Smith that buying the help of Republican county committee leaders would cost "a pretty penny" and asked if it's "worth any price," the complaint said. The FBI said Smith responded: "Look, talk to me before you close it. But it's worth it. Because you know how big a deal it is."

The court papers also portrayed Halloran as critical to the plans.

In one conversation, the FBI said, Halloran was soliciting funding for his congressional campaign in September when he agreed to hire someone of the cooperating witness's choosing for a congressional staff position in return for a cash contribution, saying: "That's politics, that's politics, it's all about how much. Not about whether or will, it's about how much, and that's our politicians in New York, they're all like that, all like that. And they get like that because of the drive that the money does for everything else. You can't do anything without the ... money."

Smith, first elected to the Senate in 2000, has served as minority and majority leader, as well as president pro tempore and acting lieutenant governor. He serves on the state Senate's transportation committee and is vice chairman of its finance committee.

As the government described it, he was central to the conspiracy.

An effort by Smith to run as a Republican is not unprecedented. Mayor Michael Bloomberg switched from the Democratic to Republican parties shortly before his first successful run for mayor in 2001. The path is attractive to candidates because it is easier to get on the ballot for the Republican mayoral primary in a city crowded with Democratic politicians.

Smith, however, cannot run as a Republican without the written consent of three of the city's five Republican Party county chairmen, who were scheduled to meet on Wednesday.

It would not be Smith's first flirtation with GOP politics. He made a surprising move last year in the state Legislature to join forces with Republicans to form a first-of-its-kind coalition to run the fractured state Senate. The move by Smith and four other renegade Democrats allowed the state GOP to keep control of the Legislature's upper chamber.